Saving Money After a Baby

For many new parents the decision for one to stay home is a big one. You know you want the baby to be in your care (if you're anything like me), but the thought of cutting your income in half is a scary premonition. Don't get me wrong, we still have our ups and downs--but I think that there are easy ways to save on things. You have to decide your trade-offs and what you're willing to sacrifice, but if you choose to stay home there are some simple ways to cut. You have to figure that by staying home, you're not spending money on daycare, you will naturally not use as much gas, likely spend less on lunches out and Starbucks in the morning, and you won't have to buy work cloths. That's not always enough though, so where can you save a little and still maintain a normal lifestyle? (whatever "normal" is these days)

In talking to my friends and my own real life experiences, I've gathered some tips that seem to work quite well. Not everything works for everyone, but hey it's worth a try, right?!

Formula: If your baby is formula fed for whatever reason, check out the brand at Costco or whatever warehouse club you belong to. I didn't believe it and I honestly felt like I would be giving my baby less than top quality ingredients if I made the switch. However after I compared labels (rather extensively) and talked to our pediatrician, we found that the Costco brand had the same ingredients and was therefore just fine. This cut our formula costs in half, for real! You may have a day or two of the baby getting used to it, but in the long run it works out quite well. (if they are a baby with allergies, this obviously may not work well for you)

Diapers & Wipes: Again check out your local warehouse club--if you don't have a membership it may be worth the cost of $50 to get one. We stock up and I mean have at least a two month supply. I have shopped everywhere (grocery store, Target, Babies R' Us) and believe me that these are the best deals around. Same with wipes and the store brand (Costco in our case) are significantly cheaper. I don't know about you, but I don't need a brand name for the purposes that wipes serve! It's also nice because while you're saving money, you can also stock up so you don't have to run out every other week for either item.

Baby Food: Check around and you might be amazed--our local grocery store has had Gerber 1st and 2nd foods on sale for about 3-4 months now at a cost that is about 30% less than any other store in town. Have I stocked up? You bet! This little girl has enough baby food to get her through the next few months. I also get coupons every time I check out that I keep using over and over--coupons are key for things like this too! So shop around and use those fabulous coupons that you get in the mail, online, or from the point of purchase.

Mom 2 Mom Sales: For those of you that have never been or even heard of these--they're fantastic! If you don't mind buying other moms "gently used" clothes, toys, and baby gear, you can find a stock of all of the above and then some. This is like a huge flea market for the mommy and you can find wonderful clothes and just about anything you need for baby at a very discounted rate. Perfect for somebody like me that had everything you could possibly imagine for our baby until about 9 months and then all of a sudden realized that I need to seriously stock up. Considering that most baby clothes are worn a handful of times at most, this is a great way to go and you can save bundles! I know many moms (in many different walks of life) that visit these frequently.

Staying home is a personal choice and not everyone can or wants to do it. However saving money is something that I know most of us love to do! Whether you're a mom that stays home and really needs to watch her budget, or are just a mom that loves to save a few bucks, hopefully these tips can help you. I learn new ways everyday as you will find that moms are the most resourceful people in the world!